Hello! I started writing a piece switching between 4 and 8 voices, expecting there to be no problem when I would “assemble” the staffs during unison tenors and basses. However, I obviously chose to write for single players because that’s what I am doing, and Dorico can’t use divisi on single player staffs. I should have guessed!
The apparent problem with group singers is that they come in single staffs, meaning you have to start out the score with a divisi marking above each divided staff that cannot be erased without deleting the divisi function. I can’t have a professional score where each singer has their instrument name above their staff.
To recap the issue: I need group players to use divisi, and I want a professional score with no unnecessary information in the first page. How do I do this?
Furthermore, I’d love to have two systems per page without collision (Dorico’s auto spacing makes me want to scream), but I’m hoping divisi will help me with this.
Here’s the project, finished in everything but layout:
Sorry, I should have stressed that the main point apart from space efficiency is to not have superfluous notes, which is why I want unis staffs instead of divided.
But to your suggestion, I really want to keep the systems as large as possible while still fitting two in one page.
(And reducing size will not stop Dorico from colliding the systems, until you reach a comically small size)
Hi @Iver_Griffiths, followings @Derrek’s suggestion, here a version of your projects where, when possible, the unison are condensed (even if condensing is not jet fully optimised for vocal music).
I didn’t check every detail, it was just an exercise. (Possibly another version using real divisi would give better results. Mostly because of the missing arrows in this version, which would guide the singers to the changed systems. For this reason this version may be very confusing for them…).
I used 5mm staff. Then you can switch on signposts, and see what I did (and you can use Library Manager to see the global changes that I didi from your original file):
